The Seven-Seven
by Tekkno
Summary: After escaping from an IMC ambush, Emilia Pérez and her Titan CA-4435 - or 'Cee-Ay' - attempt to outdistance their pursuit in the hopes of finding some way to extract from the combat zone. Things take a turn for the strange though as they come across an unknown colony which might hold desperately needed supplies...
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

* * *

Emilia Pérez frowned at the data feed scrolling before her eyes; a series of incomprehensible alpha-numeric characters that meant less than nothing to her.

"You're sure about this Cee-Ay?" she said.

"AFFIRMATIVE, PILOT PÉREZ," a booming, synthetic male voice replied.

"Completely sure?" she persisted.

"AFFIRMATIVE, PILOT PÉREZ."

Her frown deepened as she felt her Titan's assurance through their shared neural link.

"...because I remember on Demeter, when you also said you'd cracked the IMC encryption-"

"I APOLOGISED FOR THAT ERROR."

Pérez raised her eyebrows and levelled a pointed stare at nothing in particular – although sitting inside her Titan there wasn't really much for her to glare _at_ as her view was a panoramic camera feed of the forest - but her slightly mocking scepticism was evident in the link.

"...I WILL RE-ANALYSIS THE SENSOR DATA."

"Thank you, Cee-Ay" she said, smiling.

A few moments passed, during which Pérez continued walking across the soft and uneven forest ground - or rather, Pérez commanded the chassis of her Titan to walk. She was referred to as the 'Pilot', but the way it worked was more like wearing a ten-metre tall, nuclear-powered suit covered in weapons and loaded with its own artificial intelligence.

The A.I. in question - serial number CA-4435, or 'Cee-Ay' - was actually entirely autonomous and could think and act without her input when she was engaged in more human-sized activities; but 'his' ability to multi-task effectively or make snap-judgements and decisions, especially during conflict situations, was limited.

Titans could, and did, fight without their human counterparts, they were heavily armed and armoured, but slow to move and react to external threats and stimuli.

Pilots on the other hand, were fast, but fragile. They could react quickly and efficiently, and manoeuvre more quickly - thanks to a system of jump-jets built into the belt units on the back of their suits - but one shot in the right place was usually all it took before they went down.

Alone, each could easily hold their own against most threats; but together, thanks to a biological and technological connection between the Pilot and the Titan - known as a 'neural link' - a human and Titan could dominate the battlefield.

The technology in the Pilot's helmet and suit made the neural link possible - allowing the Pilot to assume direct neural control of the chassis - making moving, targeting and firing weapons and countermeasures as easy and natural as lifting her own arms.

When a Pilot sat within the Titan chassis the A.I. became a passenger, able to focus its attention on sensor information, communications, power flows, tactical subsystems and a host of other systems that it would otherwise take a full human crew to keep track of. The Pilot also provided the spark of intuition and gut instinct an A.I. lacked.

There were limitations, sure; the Titan's weight largely precluded any agile combat - jumping was a near impossibility, although the chassis did have rechargeable, directional burst-jets which allowed fast movement in limited surges - and due to its size, there were places where it simply could not fit.

They also made a bigger, slower target too; but heavy armour plating and protective shielding helped protect them from the worst of the damage sent their way.

For all of that though, the positives far outweighed the negatives.

It was a pretty near perfect union of person and machine.

Most of the time...

"PILOT PÉREZ, I MUST REMIND YOU THAT MY CHASSIS WILL BECOME INOPERABLE IN APPROXIMATELY TWENTY-TWO HOURS."

Right now, for example, Pérez was trying her best to ignore the chassis' critically low power supply, and Cee-Ay kept reminding her about it.

"Thanks Cee-Ay," she said, pushing the irritation out of her voice. "I can see the read-out, I don't need the hourly reminder."

Pérez and Cee-Ay had been alone for six days now; their Militia scouting force decimated in an ambush by an overwhelmingly large IMC ground assault team.

The battle had been unexpected, fast, and furious. Her unit had been all but wiped out and the drop-ships sent by their parent ship to extract them had been blown out of the sky. That same ship, the _Bernstein_ had then been driven off by a larger IMC frigate that had warped in.

Pérez and Cee-Ay had only just barely escaped the ambush, evading their pursuers in the thickly forested mountains the planet - whatever it was called - had offered.

Cee-Ay had noted a few other Militia Titans and their Pilots had also managed to disengage from the conflict - but their status and locations were now unknown. Communications now would only give away their positions.

Assuming they survived, Pérez knew they would be doing as she and Cee-Ay were; moving as quickly and often as possible in the vain hope of extraction, whilst trying to stay one step ahead of any continued pursuit.

Normally such pursuit wouldn't be a problem. Cee-Ay's data core was loaded into an Ogre-class chassis - a monster even amongst Titans. His capability on the battlefield could be matched only by a similar chassis, and with Pérez's help, the two should have been able to cut through their pursuit, or evade it almost indefinitely.

But the battle had not been anticipated, and after it began extraction had been promised swiftly; their deployment, therefore, had been rushed. So rushed that Cee-Ay's chassis hadn't been supplied with the fresh nuclear battery-packs it had needed for a prolonged engagement.

Now they were paying the price for their haste and short-sightedness.

"PROTOCOL THREE DEMANDS THE PROTECTION OF THE PILOT." Cee-Ay announced, unprompted. "IN THE EVENT MY CHASSIS BECOMES LOW ON POWER-"

"If you want to protect the Pilot, then finish analysing that sensor data," she said, interrupting him. "Because if you were right, then we might not have a problem."

The Titan was silent for a few more moments before speaking again.

"I HAVE FINISHED RE-ANALYSING THE SENSOR DATA," he said. "THERE IS A NINETY-EIGHT POINT SEVEN-THREE-FIVE PERCENT ACCURACY RATING."

"So it _is_ a uranium deposit you found?"

"AFFIRMATIVE. THE POSITION IS APPROXIMATELY SEVENTY KILOMETERS FROM THIS LOCATION AND ALONG A ROUGHLY SIMILAR HEADING." Pérez observed a solid line superimposed on the ground over her field of vision. She corrected their direction of travel to match it.

"And we'll get there before your current battery expires?"

"ASSUMING WE DO NOT ENGAGE WITH IMC FORCES OR EXCESSIVELY DRAIN MY RESERVES, YES. WE WILL REACH THE POSITION WITHIN SIX HOURS."

"And we can extract it, and process it as well?"

"ASSUMING IT LIES CLOSE ENOUGH TO THE SURFACE TO EXTRACT WITH MY REMAINING BATTERY CHARGE, AND BEFORE IMC FORCES LOCATE OUR POSITION, IT WILL BE POSSIBLE TO PROVIDE AT LEAST SOME ADDITIONAL RESERVES, YES."

Pérez smiled as she reached out with a large metal hand to push a small tree aside from their path.

"Cee-Ay, I owe you an apology."

* * *

Five hours later Pérez stood balanced on the branch of a tree, having disembarked her Titan, and stared out across the long, forested mountain slope and into the valley below them.

A patchwork of cultivated lands sat in the basin of that valley, surrounding a mishmash of prefabricated and locally constructed buildings. A large factory-like facility sat at the centre, looming intimidatingly over the smaller structures.

Her helmet visor magnified the image, bringing the buildings to almost a hands-distance away.

The setting sun, whilst not yet over the horizon, cast enough shadow to make the entire place look deserted.

Plumes of steam from several of the largest building's chimney-stacks, as well as a number of lights in many of the surrounding buildings, told otherwise.

"IMC?" she asked, looking up at the Titan.

The ponderous machine turned at the waist, the box-like 'body' of the Ogre-class chassis pitted with scorch marks and divots from small arms fire. A square bank of six brightly glowing blue camera 'eyes' set towards the front of the box regarded her.

"NO. THERE ARE NO MARKERS OR DESIGN ELEMENTS CONSISTENT WITH INTERSTELLAR MANUFACTURING CORPORATION STANDARDS," he said, the camera 'eyes' pulsing in time with his speech. "IT APPEARS TO BE A FRONTIER COLONY."

Pérez frowned and looked once more towards the sprawl of buildings far below them.

"Frontier, but not Militia," she said, more of a statement than a question. She returned her attention to the town and sighed. "Want to bet that big facility in the middle is processing the uranium you detected?"

"I HAVE NOTHING TO BET WITH," Cee-Ay replied, turning his optics towards the town as well. "BUT ENERGY READINGS ARE CONSISTENT WITH SUCH AN OPERATION."

"You're _certain_ it's not Militia?"

"I HAVE NO RECORD OF SUCH A FACILITY BEING LOCATED HERE, SUGGESTING IT IS NOT MILITIA-RUN," Cee-Ay replied. He gave the Titan equivalent of a shrug. "THIS DOES NOT MEAN MY RECORDS ARE ACCURATE."

"Well then," Pérez said, drawing her sidearm, giving it a quick visual inspection and then loading a round into the chamber before holstering it. "Shall we go and ask the neighbours if we can borrow a cup of sugar?"

* * *

Night had fallen by the time the two had picked their way down the wooded incline to reach the treeline.

Pérez had elected to remain on foot, relishing the chance to stretch her legs after nearly six days of confinement inside the Titan.

The town now stood a few short miles away across flat scrubland, affording it excellent views of approaching threats - indeed Cee-Ay had barely stepped out of the forest before the sound of a shelter alarm being sounded echoed across the barren plain to them.

"I guess they know we're coming, then," Pérez observed, the Titan's longer stride reducing enough now they were clear of the trees for her to walk comfortably beside him.

"I WOULD PREFER YOU WERE NOT OUTSIDE MY CHASSIS, PILOT PÉREZ," Cee-Ay said. "WE MAY COME UNDER FIRE."

"Relax, big-guy," Pérez said, waving a hand dismissively. "We didn't see any defensive emplacements, and my suit will take _some_ small-arms fire if they decide to turn hostile. Plenty of time for me to hide behind you if needed."

"NOT SEEING EMPLACEMENTS DOES NOT MEAN THEY ARE ABSENT," Cee-Ay observed, stopping his forward momentum. "ADDITIONALLY, THEY MAY HAVE MORE THAN 'SMALL-ARMS' TO PROTECT THEMSELVES."

Pérez kept walking, turning to look at her Titan as she passed him.

"We'll look less of a threat if I'm walking beside you," she said, putting determination into her voice and through the neural link. "We don't want to spook these folks more than we already apparently have. And besides..."

She raised an eyebrow at the mech, even if it was covered by her helmet she knew Cee-Ay was aware of her amusement.

"…weren't you suggesting we want to avoid any confrontation to keep your battery power up?"

Cee-Ay's optics tracked Pérez as she walked ahead of him. He gave the electronic equivalent of a sigh and then began moving forwards once more.

They travelled in companionable silence towards the town's outskirts - Cee-Ay activating a pair of shoulder-mounted floodlights as the light dimmed further, lighting the way.

They were near enough halfway to the nearest of the buildings when a radio signal suddenly came to life; a French accented male voice booming through Pérez's helmet speakers.

"That's close enough," the voice said. "We don't want any trouble, so just turn around and head back the way you came."

Pérez drew to a stop, Cee-Ay doing likewise.

"I take it you heard that?" she said, looking towards Cee-Ay.

"AFFIRMATIVE," he replied.

"Not as friendly as I'd hoped," she said, raising her left arm and tapping on the wrist-mounted computer there with her right. "Sorry to drop by unannounced, whom-ever-you-are," she said, her words now transmitting on the same frequency as the mystery voice. "We're Militia - not IMC. We were in a battle a few da-"

"We don't care _who_ you are, Pilot," the voice interrupted her. "We've no quarrel with the Militia _or_ the IMC, and we want to keep it that way."

"Look pal," Pérez said, her patience - already frayed from days of walking and evasion - quickly peaking. "You don't want us around, fine. All we want is some U-232, preferably in a form my Titan can utilise, and we'll be on our way. His scanners show you have a sizable deposit here. Surely you can spare some, even if just to get us out of your hair?"

The line was silent for a few moments, before a different voice suddenly came on the channel; this one a deep, rumbling voice of apparently Russian descent.

"Pilot, this is Vladimir Sokoloff, I am the Foreman of this facility. What assurances do we have of your intentions?"

The ghost of a smile tugged at Pérez's face.

"Not a damn one, sir," she said. "But we're coming towards you in clear sight, weapons holstered and engaging in a dialogue with you. Surely that affords us some credit?"

There was a noise like a scoff at the end of the channel, but Pérez was pretty sure it had come from the French voice.

"You are honest at least, Pilot," Vladimir said. There was a lengthy pause before he continued, making Pérez think they had muted the line. "Very well, _you_ may approach, but not the Titan. We'll give you what you want, and then you leave."

"PILOT PÉREZ," Cee-Ay said, quickly. "I WOULD ADVISE AGAINST ACCEPTING THIS INVITA-"

"Foreman Sokoloff, I accept your terms." Pérez interrupted.

The Titan turned to look at Pérez, the bright lights from his optics dimming as their iris covers slid to a nearly closed position. Pérez resisted a chuckle at the very human expression of her Titan 'narrowing his eyes' at her.

"There's one more condition," the Foreman said after another lengthy pause.

"Oh?"

"We have a...guest, within our facility," Vladimir said, his unease palpable even over the radio. "When you leave, we want him to go with you."

Pérez frowned and looked towards Cee-Ay. She reached up to her helmet's transmitter and clicked the 'mute' key to stop transmitting.

"A 'guest'?" she said.

"FROM HIS TONE AND INFLECTION I WOULD SUGGEST AN UNWELCOME ONE." Cee-Ay replied. "PILOT PÉREZ, I ADVISE AGAINST ENTERING THIS SETTLEMENT ALONE. MY PROTOCOLS -"

"-Demand protection of the pilot, I know." she said. "But the only way to do that is to stay ahead of the IMC until we can extract, and unless I get you this power supply..."

She shrugged.

The iris covers on the Titan's eyes cycled closed and his shoulders appeared to slump in mimicry of a human's defeated, if surly, slouch.

"VERY WELL PILOT PÉREZ," he said, his optics opening again. "I WILL MONITOR YOUR SITUATION BUT REMAIN HERE. HOWEVER, IF I DEEM THE SITUATION WARRANTS MY INTERVENTION I SHALL RETRIEVE YOU."

"I'll be fine," she said with a smile, her affection and amusement communicated down their link. "It's not like I can't handle a few colonists."

She reached up and tapped the mute button once more, resuming the transmission.

"Foreman Sokoloff, we accept your terms."

* * *

 _A/N: My first ever submission of any sort of story. I hope you've enjoyed it so far and want to read more. Should be dropping at least the next chapter once I've done some editing and re-writing. Any comments or feedback are gratefully received._


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

* * *

They met her at a simple chain-link fence that seemed to run around the perimeter of the town.

Given that her Titan could have walked across it without breaking his stride, she assumed it must mark the boundary of the settlement, or keep out the local predators, rather than act as a serious defensive barrier.

Vladimir Sokoloff was not quite the intimidating presence that Pérez had expected. Rather than the muscular, bearded Russian bear that his deep radio voice had projected, the Foreman was a bespectacled, older-looking man whose slight frame was almost lost within the grubby, over-sized trench coat he wore.

The man with him however was either every bit as intimidating as he appeared, or trying very, very hard to seem that way.

He was dressed in a cleaned and pressed jacket, with 'SECURITY' emblazoned in large yellow letters across the chest accompanied by a similarly clean and gleaming badge. At his hip he wore a black leather-like belt and holster, holding a transparent handgun.

The expression on his weather-worn face, and his aggressive body language gave the impression of a man in authority, and who demanded respect. He was likely accustomed to receiving it too, although whether he deserved it, or simply tried to bully others around, remained to be seen.

She presumed it was this one was the one with the French accent, which was quickly confirmed as he raised his flashlight beam to shine at her helmeted face - apparently attempting to dazzle her.

"Take the helmet off," he said, his voice pitched in at a low and commanding tone. "Take it off now, or you don't come in."

A bully then, she thought with a sigh.

Pérez had dealt with bullies before; even ones wearing security garb - mostly wearing it, in fact. They seemed to think a shiny badge and the rule of law gave them dominion over all lesser mortals. As if those same laws didn't apply to them.

Pérez wasn't overly impressed with that mindset, and she knew the best way to defuse it.

She turned towards Sokoloff.

"Thanks for agreeing to provide me with fuel, Foreman," she said, inclining her head slightly to acknowledge him. "We'd not have gotten much further without it."

The Russian reached up to scratch at the frosting of white stubble on his chin; Pérez had the satisfaction of seeing the face of the Frenchman purple angrily at being ignored.

"Chief Dubois seems to think you will cause us trouble, Pilot," he said. "I'm inclined to agree with him, but I also think denying you would cause us more."

"It probably would have," she admitted; lying to this man wasn't going to get her anything, especially when they both knew she could have walked in riding Cee-Ay and taken anything she wanted. "That's not to say that I don't appreciate the gesture."

The Frenchman - Dubois - grunted; a sound of irritated amusement. Pérez elected to continue ignoring him, as - curiously - did Sokoloff.

"As I said before, at least you're honest," he nodded as he spoke, a curiously bird-like bobbing of his head. "I will be equally honest in saying that I would like to get this transaction completed as quickly as possible."

Pérez nodded.

"I agree, the sooner I'm gone from here the better - for me, and for you."

"Are you threatening us?" Dubois said, suddenly. Pérez spared him a brief glance; before turning her head away with such an exaggerated motion that her disdain would be clear even with her helmet on.

"No, I'm not," she said, turning to address the Foreman once again. "But there is a real threat all the same."

She jerked a thumb back towards the mountains behind her.

"We've been evading IMC pursuit for several days now, the sooner we can move on the less likely they are to bother you."

"This is my hope as well, Pilot," Sokoloff said, nodding once more. He raised an arm, pointing along the perimeter fence. "Head that way, about twenty minutes' walk, and you'll come to a small gate…"

"With all due respect, Foreman," Pérez said, taking a step back and gauging the height of the fence. "That won't be necessary."

She ducked downward for a moment, bending her knees before she pushed sharply upwards with her legs, using her neural link to fire the small jump-jets built into the mounted pack on her armour. The jets flared for a moment in the darkness, lending her leap considerable upward momentum for their size.

She cleared the fence easily, and landed before the two men, dropping down to one knee to help absorb the impact.

Dubois had taken a long step back as she had lifted into the air, his hands were halfway to unbuttoning the holster of his sidearm by the time she landed. He froze as Pérez stood; the dim blue light from her helmet visor reflected in his wide and angry eyes as she raised her head.

"If I'd wanted to hurt you," she said, calmly. "Then you'd already be hurt."

"I find it hard to trust the intentions of a cyborg," he said, his eyes narrowing in distrust of her.

She sighed again.

It wasn't uncommon for people to think of Pilots as super-human; or perhaps inhuman.

Her skills certainly put her on a different playing field to most people - the Militia soldiers she fought alongside were often left in the dust, even when she wasn't riding her Titan. Her reflexes, spatial awareness, reaction speeds, endurance and stamina, all set her - and other Pilots - apart in ways some people couldn't comprehend.

It was no wonder they were sometimes feared by the very people they were working to protect.

She reached up with both hands to the catches on either side of the helmet's neck seal and quickly undid them; the visor shifted up, and the collar-lock released with a brief hiss as her air-filters cleared.

She lifted the helmet from her head and shook out her hair. She breathed in the night air, wrinkling her nose at the unique alien scents and odours of this world, as well as the more familiar smells she could associate with humans - from Dubois it was nicotine, polish, and cheap cologne.

Sokoloff, she noted, didn't smell even half as badly as his dishevelled appearance might suggest.

She wished she could say the same of herself; nearly seven days in a cramped Titan, and then an afternoon of hiking through the mountains in her Pilot gear had not been kind to her. Her shoulder-length hair was matted and greasy after being kept confined within the helmet too, clinging to her forehead and the sides of her face as she tried to shake it out.

And, frankly, she stank.

All in all, she realised as the light breeze touched her face, she would happily kill everyone in this settlement for a Titan battery and a hot shower.

She lowered the helmet and clipped it to her chest by the carabiner there. Then she raised her eyes to look at Dubois - human to human.

"There, see? I'm flesh and blood like you," she said, her tone level. "Not much to be afraid of without the helmet."

It was a barefaced lie to say that. But a harmless one so far as she was concerned, since she truly meant them no harm.

Dubois appeared to consider his position; the Foreman of the facility watching him closely, and a non-hostile woman standing before him whilst he was frozen in the action of reaching for his gun.

Eventually he grunted, and moved his hands away from his holster.

"You come into my facility, you do it unarmed" he said, visibly rallying from his discomfort, but losing none of his arrogance for it. "Hand over that weapon."

She lowered her gaze to the handgun strapped to her own hip for a few moments, then looked over at Sokoloff.

"I'm probably just as dangerous to you unarmed as armed," she said. She turned her attention back towards Dubois. "And if this 'guest' you want me to take away is problematic, I'd rather have it on me."

Dubois' face worked the problem over and Pérez smiled inwardly at the dilemma she presented; on the one hand, he was chief of security and therefore used to getting his own way, except - perhaps - with Sokoloff. She doubted he would let this challenge to his authority stand.

Yet on the other hand, he didn't want to force his hand and see her prove she was as quick and strong as Pilots were rumoured to be. Or at least quick and strong enough to overpower him.

Either way, he stood to lose face.

This was how Pérez dealt with bullies, backing them into a corner of their own making, and then watching them squirm. In her experience, this was about the point they either snapped, or tried to wriggle out of a direct confrontation.

Dubois finally turned to Sokoloff and Pérez did her best not to snort in amusement.

"I can't have an armed, potentially hostile presence wandering your facility!" he said. "If you want to maintain the operational security of your projects -"

"Thank you for your vote of confidence in my authority, Chief, but I believe the Pilot will be unlikely to hand over her weapon simply because I ask her nicely."

The Russian turned to regard Pérez, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"But I would have your word, Pilot, that you will cause no trouble during your stay here."

She nodded.

"You have it."

"There, you see Fabrice," he said, turning to the security chief with a smile. "Some manners and a little trust is all that's needed."

He looked once more towards Pérez.

"If you'll follow me then, we shall get your U-232 battery, and introduce you to your new companion."

"I can't wait," Pérez said, dryly. "Let me just let my Titan know what's going on."

She took the helmet from its hanging position and placed it back on her head.

After taking a moment longer to prevent the helmet speakers from relaying her voice, she spoke:

"Cee-Ay?"

"I AM HERE, PILOT PÉREZ."

"I'm going to assume you caught all of that?"

"AFFIRMATIVE."

"Good, I'm going to have my helmet off - seems to make the local policía a little jumpy."

"I WILL UTILISE YOUR HELMET LIGHTS TO ATTRACT YOUR ATTENTION IF REQUIRED."

"Perfect. Stay safe and try to limit your power usage. I'll be back as soon as I can."

"I WILL. YOU STAY SAFE AS WELL, EMILIA."

"No promises," she said, smiling at the Titan's rare use of her given name as she removed and then stowed the helmet once more.

With a smile she turned to her escorts.

"Well, gentleman. Shall we?"

* * *

They had shown her into a small four-wheeled buggy and driven quickly through the outskirts of the town - the few scattered homesteads and farmlands that made up the patchwork she and Cee-Ay had viewed surrounding the settlement.

There were no lights in these buildings, despite their homely appearance.

While Dubois appeared surly and uncommunicative as he drove the buggy, Sokoloff seemed quite content to balance that out, commenting on just about everything they passed; remarking on re-purposed factory equipment that had been turned to farming, or how ingenuity was the most valued commodity in Tagata Point - as she learnt the place was called.

It seemed the 'settlement' was founded 'officially' after the war between the IMC and the Frontier worlds had begun.

Before then, they were a small frontier operation, mining and processing the uranium underneath where the main factory-facility had been located. There had been no farms, no permanent housing to speak of - the staff had originally been rotated in and out on a regular basis and returning to Earth, or another of the Core Systems.

But after the war began, the facility was apparently forgotten by whatever company had originally owned it. Calls for assistance went unheard, or ignored, and the few hundred staff who remained - mostly factory workers, some security, and the administration staff - were left to fend for themselves.

Uranium Extraction and Processing Facility One-Nine-Five-Four had needed to adapt to survive.

They had begun by trying to locate and store all of their surplus food, before taking to the mountains to try and locate and hunt game to supplement and eventually replace it. After scraping by for the better part of a year, they had finally received a response from a cargo ship that had been passing through the system.

The Captain of the ship - a freebooter who sold his supplies to both sides in the conflict - was overjoyed to find a regular supply of processed uranium-232, and more than happy to begin an arrangement with the township to keep them supplied with pretty much whatever they needed in exchange for more of it.

The arrangement had continued for several years, to the mutual profit of both the freebooter and the growing town, until they had become almost completely self-sufficient.

Now, having established an independent lifestyle, Tagata Point was keen to remain out of the long-standing conflict that threatened the rest of the Frontier.

Pérez listened with half an ear, appreciating the difficulties that the town had faced, but also keen to return to that conflict. The longer she and Cee-Ay remained stuck on this planet, the more of her friends and family fought and died protecting all the worlds of the Frontier.

The plight of a colony that refused to get involved - hoping the troubles would pass them by if they continued to bury their heads in the sand - wasn't of much interest to her.

Eventually, they came to the entrance of the largest building, which Sokoloff proudly proclaimed to be the Processing Facility itself.

It was no more or less impressive to Pérez than any other factory-complex she'd seen - a mess of exterior pipes and cooling stacks, all of which was even less impressive in the dark.

She made appropriately appreciative noises all the same. The Russian was obviously proud of what they had accomplished, and she had no intention of seeming anything other than an enraptured guest until she had her battery.

Attached to the front face of the facility was a glass-fronted reception area, and it was to this that they were stopped.

Dubois dismounted the buggy and pushed his way through the double-doors and into the foyer without a backwards glance, but Sokoloff stopped to catch and hold one open for Pérez. Despite herself, she found herself smiling at the man as she walked past.

As she had noted from the outside, the reception seemed well-kept. Considering what Sokoloff had said about them having to salvage materials for constructing the rest of the town, there was plush, leather seating, potted plants from the local area, and the entire room was well lit.

Dubois crossed the room at a brisk pace, approaching a large security door and coming to rest at the card-scanner built into its frame. As the rest of the town, this reception hall appeared deserted; she presumed the rest of the town was within the large facility.

The facility which lay behind the heavy-looking, almost-certainly-too-small-for-her-Titan security doors towards which she was now being led.

She stopped a short distance from the doors; Sokoloff nearly bumping into her as she came to a halt.

"Pilot, is somethin-"

"I think I'd like to know a little more about what I'm walking into, Foreman," she said, turning to face the man, but keeping Dubois in her peripheral vision. "And I think I would like to know before we go any further."

Sokoloff hesitated, looking past Pérez at Dubois. At the edges of her sight she saw the Frenchman shake his head minutely.

"I really am going to have to insist," Pérez said, dropping her left hand to her holstered sidearm.

She saw Dubois react to this movement by trying to draw his own sidearm. In the heartbeat it took for him to react, however, Pérez had already drawn her pistol. Whipping it from her holster, she took a step back - out of Sokoloff's reach - and aimed the muzzle of her weapon at Dubois.

Dubois froze, his hands stopped in the action of unfastening the restraint on the handle of his own weapon. Slowly, and with great reluctance, he raised his hands above his head.

Satisfied that she had control of the situation - at least for the moment - she manoeuvred herself behind Sokoloff, allowing her to keep both people in sight as she spoke.

"So, how many of your security forces are behind that door?"

She watched as Dubois' face screwed up in irritation and knew she'd scored a hit.

"Enough," he said, looking like making such an admission pained him.

"I doubt that," Pérez said, smiling. "But we'll assume you thought so, at least."

She turned her attention to Sokoloff, whose face appeared utterly drained of blood.

"And I suppose this 'guest' of yours was a fiction? To lure me into the facility for you to capture?"

"N-no, Pilot, our guest is quite real, I assure you," Sokoloff replied. "But we had to take certain precautions, I'm sure you can understand that?"

Pérez mulled this over. Would she have done any different in their position?

She knew the damage a single Pilot could do, let alone a Titan.

But what was the one thing that could potentially hold off a Titan?

Something clicked at the back of her head. A piece falling into place.

"This guest of yours is a Pilot, aren't they?"

She could have sworn Sokoloff's face went even whiter. She continued her train of thought.

"You separated them from their Titan, like you did with me, and brought them to your facility...why?"

Pérez's mind made another connection and her eyes widened suddenly.

"And where's the other Titan?"

Sokoloff swallowed, opening his mouth to speak.

The first muffled explosion from outside the town interrupted him.

Pérez glanced down to her helmet as the lights within began blinking urgently.


	3. Chapter 3

In a single fluid motion Pérez unclipped her helmet with one hand and pulled it over her head.

The other hand remained pointing her sidearm at Dubois.

"Cee-Ay, sit-rep," she said. The feed came alive with the sound of muted battle, and then Cee-Ay's rough electronic voice.

"I AM ENGAGED WITH AN IMC TITAN, PILOT PÉREZ," he said, matter-of-factly. "ATLAS-CLASS, ION CONFIGURATION."

That meant an armour-chewing plasma rifle, precision-lasers, and an ordinance-reflecting Vortex Shield...nasty business, but no match for Cee-Ay in a prolonged engagement.

Except Cee-Ay would not survive a prolonged engagement without replenishing his energy reserves.

Hell, he'd likely not last a short one.

"Shit," Pérez said, her frustration at being so far away warring with her concern for her Titan. "Status?"

"I AM CURRENTLY ATTEMPTING TO DISENGAGE," Cee-Ay replied. "MINOR DAMAGE TO DORSAL ARMOUR PLATING."

"I thought the IMC were hours away at least?"

"THIS TITAN APPEARED FROM THE FAR SIDE OF THIS SETTLEMENT," a pause, punctuated by a muted burst of fire from Cee-Ay's Predator cannon. "I DO NOT BELIEVE IT FORMS PART OF THE GROUP WE HAVE BEEN EVADING."

Pérez's mind processed this new information quickly, her mind racing to the most logical conclusion.

She activated her helmet's exterior speakers with a quick neural command.

"Your captured Pilot is IMC," she said, addressing Sokoloff. He nodded slowly, sweat running down his face. "Call off their Titan, now."

"I can't," Sokoloff said, his voice stammering still. "I mean, I can, but not from here. I need to be in the factory comm room."

She looked at Dubois.

"You," she said. "You've got two minutes to get your Titan to stand down…" she shifted her aim from Duboi to Sokoloff, whose eyes widened in terror.

"...or I'll decorate this room with your Foreman."

Duboi scowled, crossing his arms. His posture suggested he wouldn't take her threat seriously.

The sound of a frantic running battle played in her ears.

She cursed every second as it further drained Cee-Ay's reserves.

She didn't have time for this shit.

Pérez turned once more to Sokoloff.

"Tell him, Foreman. Don't waste your life over this."

"I need your promise to protect this town," he said, his stammering worse now. "Then I'll call the Titan off."

"What?" Pérez said, incredulously. "You had better not be dictating terms to me!"

"That," the Foreman said. "Is exactly what I'm doing."

Pérez so very nearly pulled the trigger.

She felt her finger tightening, her arm tensing to reduce the recoil, her blood boiling with the want - the need - to vent her rage at her target.

But she pulled herself back from the brink.

These were desperate people; ignored for years, only to be caught in the middle of a sudden and unexpected IMC and Militia fight at their front door.

Desperate people took desperate chances.

And besides, killing him wouldn't save Cee-Ay.

"If you want me to protect your town," she said. "Then I need my Titan. And then we have that discussion like civilised people, with none of this 'captive-Pilot' bullshit."

"Yes, yes, fine I agree!" Sokoloff said, his eyes still transfixed by the barrel of the sidearm pointed at his face.

She lifted the muzzle upwards.

"Fine," she said moving closer to Sokoloff, her words now like ice as she put her helmeted face to his. "Then go and call off your Titan before I change my mind."

* * *

In hindsight, Pérez was amazed that Sokoloff hadn't wet himself as he had fled from the room.

Dubois had stepped aside to let him past, quickly swiping open the security door, before stepping back to bar Pérez entry.

He wouldn't stop her if it came down to it, of course.

She sized him up once more. Hell, he'd not even slow her down.

A few tense moments passed, during which Pérez continued to stare down Dubois as the sounds of a continuing battle drummed in her ears.

Her first confirmation that Sokoloff had acted honourably was a burst transmission from Cee-Ay, informing her that the IMC Titan had disengaged and was holding position at the perimeter of the town.

He'd suffered no major damage, and he was already engaged in limited self-repair and adjustment, but his power reserves were now critically low.

He had two hours - at most - assuming he powered down non-essential systems, including communications, sensors and almost all motor functions on the chassis. About forty-five minutes, if he did not.

Given their situation, neither of them thought powering down anything was a good idea.

That had been nearly twenty minutes ago.

Now, Pérez, Sokoloff, Duboi, were seated around a large wooden table, in what must have once served as a senior management office or conference room, along with two women, and another man.

The two women were introduced to her as Aiko, the Head of Agriculture and Rural Development - a well toned and tanned, stern-faced, middle-aged Asian woman; and Parvati, the Head of Uranium Extraction and Processing - she an older Indian woman, but with a slighter frame and thick-framed red glasses.

The man descended from the American Mid-West going by his accent. He was a heavy-set, well-dressed man with wiry, greying, black hair; he had been introduced simply as Billings, and represented the Townsfolk in general.

The five of them formed a rudimentary Town Council, with Sokoloff acting as a sort of mayor, or overseer, or...well, a Foreman. People brought their problems and suggestions to him, and he did his best to create solutions or find the resources to implement new projects with the help of his 'councillors'.

Currently all five were staring at Pérez with differing expressions of suspicion, or hostility.

If not for her helmet, Pérez's expression would have conveyed much the same towards them.

"So," she said, drawing out the word. "I suppose the best way to move forwards from here, is to ignore the fact you were attempting to hold me against my will, and use me a bargaining chip should the IMC come to call?"

She had expected Sokoloff to look uncomfortable at this, but she was surprised to see Aiko's expression soften with shame as well as she lowered her gaze to the table.

Billings and Dubois shared their own look. Pérez couldn't place what passed between them, but it was significant enough that she filed away the information for later.

"...and also the fact you've already done the same to another Pilot," she continued. "I suppose odds were equal that it would be the Militia that found you, after all…"

"You have to understand," Aiko said. "Your battle with the IMC threatens our independence from both factions."

"We want no part of your war," Billings said, nodding in agreement. "What our people have achieved out here is nothing short of astonishing; taming an alien world, cultivating land, raising shelters and -"

"Well, you may not want the war," Pérez interrupted. "But it's on your doorstep. It always has been."

She looked around the table, watching every face as she spoke.

"The IMC aren't going to care that you want independence. They see the entire Frontier as theirs, and they're going to strip-mine every planet from here to the Core Systems for Earth's benefit.

"Did you honestly think holding a single Militia pilot and her Titan captive was going win you any points before they marched in and claimed this facility?"

"They'd have to find us first," Parvati said, disdain evident in her voice and expression. "These mountains and forests have offered us some protection-"

"I found you," Pérez interrupted once more. "And so did this IMC Pilot you've got trussed up somewhere. Your uranium deposit isn't as hidden as you think it is. It's giving off readings I could detect from nearly seventy kilometres away."

"I told you all that increasing the extraction quotas would cause problems," Aiko said, addressing Parvati.

"This is hardly the time for 'I told you so', Aiko," Parvati replied, somewhat tartly. "And as I recall, you concerns were more related to subsidence and opening sinkholes under the town?"

"Well I didn't -" Aiko began hotly.

"Ladies, ladies, please," Sokoloff said, gesturing for quiet from both ladies. "This is no time for quarrelling!"

The two women reluctantly stopped what was clearly an old and bitter dispute.

The foreman turned towards Pérez.

"What we need is to agree on a way forwards," he continued. "Not to bicker about what we can't change."

Billings took the opportunity to speak up again.

"You're right, of course," he said, leaning back in his chair and arching his fingers over his stomach. "But with the Militia having fled, the only way forwards now is perhaps to capitulate to the IMC as I've been saying. Perhaps if we provide good terms for extraction and processing to them, they'll leave us alone and we'll simply deal with them directly."

"The IMC won't deal with you," Pérez said. "They don't deal, or negotiate, or come to settlements. They come, and they take what they want…"

She folded her arms over her chest.

"...they see the Frontier as their own private play pit. They stumped up the original capital to allow settlement out here; so they think they own it and can do with it what they want after abandoning us. And if you stand in their way, they'll simply crush you underfoot. It's the whole reason the Militia is fighting them."

"Just because you decided to fight them, doesn't mean it's the only way forwards," Billings said. "I can't believe that they're as ruthless and cut-throat as you're suggesting. Who would run a business empire that way? Who could without massive public backlash?"

"The kind of people who have unilateral support on Earth for maintaining the quality of life there," Pérez replied, almost grinding her teeth in her frustration at their ignorance. "The kind of people who control the media, and can display only the footage that shows them in the best light. The kind who can edit and remove anything that shows their true colours and replace it with footage of 'brave warriors of virtue fighting the savage Outer-World barbarians.'"

Billings shook his head, as did Parvati. Pérez glowered at them both from under her helmet.

"If you're so sure you can negotiate with them," she said. "What do you need me for?"

"We don't," Duboi said, finally adding his voice to the discussion. "If you recall, we asked you to go away, to leave us alone."

"Well, he thinks you need me," Pérez said, waving towards Sokoloff. "And you all seem quite happy to use the Pilot you _do_ have as a pawn. So if you're not going to agree with him, or listen to me about the IMC…" She shrugged and stood, as if making to leave.

"You can't leave now," Sokoloff said, his eyes wide and panicked.

"Why not let her," Billings said. "We can still negotiate with the Pilot we have if the IMC arrive-"

"When they arrive," Pérez interjected.

"-and if they don't..." Billings continued without pause, raising his voice slightly. "...then we're still better off than we were before, since we'll have our own Titan!"

"You can't be serious," Pérez said. She looked at Sokoloff. "Tell me he's not actually serious."

"Billings, we can't possibly keep the Titan indefinitely," Sokoloff said. "We can't just keep it's Pilot locked up for the rest of his life."

"Who said anything about keeping him locked up?" Billings said. "If he doesn't want to defend this town, he can take his chances out there in the mountains."

"So you _do_ want protection?" Pérez said.

She had the satisfaction of seeing him recognise his mistake and open his mouth to correct himself. She chose not to allow him the breathing space.

"The five of you around this table need to realise that I'm not lying to you about the IMC," she said. "And I can see only one way to prove my sincerity."

"Oh?" said Parvati. "And what might that be?"

"You've got an IMC pilot in this facility somewhere," she said, returning to her seat. "I suggest you ask him what he's seen and done in the name of Corporate Interests..."

* * *

It hadn't taken long to convince them to bring the Pilot to the conference room, and one of Dubois' security guards had quickly been sent to retrieve him.

As they waited, the five on the Town Council sat fidgeting. Pérez decided to make more constructive use of her time.

She keyed her helmet for private communication with her Titan.

"How are you doing, Cee-Ay?"

"MY CHASSIS POWER RESERVES ARE NEARLY DEPLETED," He said. "I ESTIMATE LESS THAN TEN MINUTES UNTIL MY CORE SYSTEMS SHUT DOWN."

"What's the Ion doing?"

"THE IMC ATLAS TITAN HAS POSITIONED ITSELF BETWEEN MYSELF AND THE TOWN. IT HAS TAKEN NO FURTHER ACTIONS SINCE DISENGAGING FROM COMBAT."

"Good, that's what I hoped," Pérez said, careful not to nod her head, or give any movement that might betray her conversation was taking place. "I want you to try and establish a dialogue with it."

"FOR WHAT PURPOSE?"

"We're all in the same boat here," she said. "I'd like you to try and persuade it that we might be able to actually help it - and its pilot."

"SUCCESS IS DOUBTFUL, IMC PROTOCOLS WILL LIKELY PROHIBIT DATA EXCHANGE...BUT I SHALL MAKE THE ATTEMPT."

"Nothing ventured..." she said as the outlines of two people walked past the frosted glass that surrounded the room, heading towards its doorway. "I've gotta go, keep me updated."

She clicked her helmet speakers back on, leaving the private line open in her helmet - she faintly heard the tones of a data exchange beginning between the two Titans as the door to the conference room opened.

The IMC Pilot was male - she had known that much from her conversations to date - Caucasian, about six-foot or so, and appeared to be in his mid-thirties. He had that slightly 'too perfect' clean-cut look and bearing of an Earther about him. Although he'd been stripped of his Pilot's gear, leaving only his white IMC-issue jumpsuit, Pérez saw the training of a Pilot in his physique and actions.

Immediately on being ushered into the room his eyes had scanned it quickly for threats. She watched as he efficiently dismissed the civilians and instead had almost immediately locked his gaze on her.

He smiled.

"I have to admit," he said, addressing the Council but facing her. "I didn't really think you would get the Militia here to collect me."

His voice was American, but not from the same region as Billings' accent placed him. Further South perhaps, or perhaps South West?

She shook her head. It didn't really matter where he was from - he was definitely from Earth, and she didn't need to narrow it further than that.

He smiled at Pérez.

"A pleasure to meet you," he said, moving towards her and extending a hand. "Pilot…?"

"Pérez, Emilia Pérez." She made no move to accept his handshake.

He cocked his head slightly to one side, letting his hand drop slowly.

"Spanish?"

"Somewhere down the line, maybe," she said, nodding. "And you are?"

"John," he replied. "John Tanner, Pilot and field medic, formerly of the IMC Titan corp. regiment Thirteen-Baker."

Pérez raised an eyebrow at that.

"Formerly?"

Tanner looked momentarily taken back, as if he had not expected the question.

"I...yes, that is, I deserted…about a week ago..."

Pérez smiled under her helmet. That explained a great deal about how he had ended up here. He'd been part of the IMC presence on this world; and must have deserted before or during the battle with the Militia forces. If he and his Titan came here the same way Pérez and Cee-Ay did, clearly he had thought the Town was Militia-run and surrendered himself to them. More fool him, as it turned out.

Still, if he'd deserted from the IMC, it was for a reason - and she bet she knew what it was.

"Because of Typhon, I presume?" she said.

"Amongst other things," Tanner said in reply. "The IMC, the Militia, the War for the Frontier...it turned out to be nothing like I had imagined..."

"What's Typhon?" Aiko asked, looking between the two pilots. They both turned their attention briefly towards the Council.

Tanner looked back at Pérez, who gestured towards him for an answer.

"Typhon was a world in the Frontier, and on it the IMC developed the means to destroy the Militia's worlds," he said, turning back to face the five.

"You mean, destroy their bases?" Dubois said. "Their military and fleets?"

"No, sir," Tanner said, shaking his head. "I mean destroy the worlds themselves. They planned to make a statement; destroying the bases and fleets, yes, but also killing millions of civilians."

"Preposterous," Billings scoffed. "How would they even accomplish such a thing?"

"They found something on Typhon," Pérez said. "Something old...something alien. Something they attempted to turn on the people of the Frontier and force them to surrender."

"They called it a 'Fold Weapon'," Tanner said, nodding along to Pérez's explanation. "It was supposed to somehow rip planets apart with their own gravity…at least, that's what I heard."

The Council looked between the two pilots.

"Preposterous," Billings said once more. "Damned lies is what I call it! Alien devices and weapons that destroy planets! What next?"

Billings turned towards the Council.

"Surely we're not going to believe this rot?"

"Two soldiers on opposite sides of the same war do, Billings," Sokoloff said after a moment's consideration.

"But that doesn't mean it's true!" Billings replied, jabbing a finger towards the Pilots. "This is some Militia rubbish cooked up to make gullible, weak men like him-" he jabbed a finger towards Tanner. "-defect to their side. That's all."

"I thought the same," Tanner said, appearing to take no notice of the insult as he stepped closer to the table. "The IMC doesn't let many people from Earth out this far into the Frontier, those of us who volunteer usually end up back nearer the Core Systems." He shrugged.

"But after the Battle of Demeter, resources were suddenly tight, and because of my medical training, and the fact I can Pilot a Titan…"

He took a deep breath.

"...I was deployed to help with the IMC survivors from Typhon...I spoke to people who were there, who managed to evacuate before the disaster…I saw the planet for myself, or what was left after the weapon misfired and shattered it to pieces."

"These baseless accusations are-"

Pérez stood suddenly, slamming her hands down on the table.

"Look," Pérez said, her temper finally snapping. "I don't give a rat's ass if you believe us or not. You asked for proof the IMC is corrupt, without morals or scruples. Now you have it.

"You want to hold me to my agreement to protect this town, fine. You want to send me away so you can live out your fantasy of negotiating with the IMC whilst holding one of their deserters captive, fine. Either way, I need the power source for my Titan you promised me, and I need it _now_."

She pounded one fist on the table to emphasise her final words.

The Council was silent for a few moments, turning to look towards their Foreman.

Sokoloff sighed.

"We'll need a few minutes to vote on the matter," he said, gesturing towards the room's door.

* * *

 _A/N: I've been blown away by the number of people that have read, favourited, or taken the time to comment on my story so far. Thank you all so much. As a first-time submitter to this site I was very nervous about making sure this was something people wanted to read, and was interesting enough for you to do so. I hope I am hitting that mark, and continue to do so. More coming soon! Thanks again._


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

* * *

The moment the door closed, Tanner turned towards Pérez.

"I thought I was going to be released to you," he said, frowning. "But clearly that's not the case…"

"Well, you thought wrong," Pérez said, bluntly.

She was angry - fuming, even - as she started walking away from the Council room and the security guard stationed outside it. "I escaped the same battle you did, I was just slower getting here."

He was uncomfortably silent as he tried to match pace with her. The fact he managed to for some reason made Pérez even angrier. She increased her pace.

"You escaped before the battle started?"

"Sort of," he said, reluctantly. "My unit formed part of the perimeter and were supposed to box in any of your people that tried to escape the kill-zone.

"One of your Titans - a Northstar, I guess - jetted away from the battle. It was shot down, and I volunteered to locate and…neutralise it."

Pérez felt her fists clench as Tanner spoke. She didn't know precisely who the Titan or its pilot would have been, but they were Militia and that was enough.

"And did you?"

Tanner hesitated, which was all the answer Pérez needed. She made to move away from the IMC Pilot, but he grabbed Pérez by the arm, jerking her to a halt.

She raised her free arm and drew it back to hit him.

"Wait!" he said. "I didn't do anything, but I did find the Titan.

"The impact from being shot down had smashed it to pieces. If the pilot survived, I didn't see them."

Pérez turned to face Tanner - lowering her fist, but stepping up and pushing her helmet nearly against his face.

"I had better not find out you are lying to me," she said.

"You won't," he said. "I found the Northstar, took the chance to disable my own Titan's signal beacon and ran. I swear. That was the sum total of my involvement with the battle."

Pérez said nothing, just pulled her arm free of his grip and began striding once more down the hallway.

Tanner almost had to jog to catch up with her.

"Look, I know you're pissed, I would be too - but don't forget you'd have been shooting at my friends too!"

"Friends who set-up the ambush in the first place!"

"This is war, Pilot. Shit things happen to good people."

Pérez came to a stop, hands on her hips.

"You can still get me to the Militia, right?"

She almost laughed.

"I've got no extraction planned, and almost no power left in my Titan." she said, jerking her head back in the direction of the Council room. "I agreed to help these people protect their town in order to stop your Titan from fighting mine. They're supposed to give me the power I need, but now-"

"Wait," Tanner interrupted. She stopped as he grabbed her arm again. "Sam was fighting your Titan? Without me? Why? Is she okay?"

Pérez lowered her gaze purposefully towards the hand gripping her arm.

Tanner released her, taking a step back and holding up his palms in apology.

"Both Titans are fine…" Pérez said after a moment, sighing in frustration. "Although right now my Titan is in worse shape,"

They were standing in a quiet hallway with no one in sight. Satisfied that they had privacy, Pérez reached up and popped the seal of her helmet before lifting it off her head. She fastened it once more to the front of her Pilot suit.

She looked up to observe Tanner staring at her.

"What?"

"N-nothing," he said, turning his gaze aside.

Pérez frowned, but decided there were more important things on her agenda.

"Listen," she said. "I don't like you, nor anyone who sided with the IMC. I get that you saw the light and tried to come on over to the right side, but right now the only reason I've not put my fist into your face is because I need you."

This seemed to get his attention back.

"Need me?" he said, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. "For what?"

"Your Titan…Sam, was it?" - He nodded - "must have a pretty good battery supply if it was set to engage mine. I need some of that energy, and I need it fast."

"Aren't the colonials back there agreeing to give you what you need?"

"Not fast enough, Cee-Ay has maybe three to four minutes of power left. If you can get your Titan to share, we can figure out some way to get out of this in one piece."

"You'll deliver us to the Militia then?"

"Seems like I don't have a choice in the matter," Pérez said, sighing deeply. "But believe me, it won't be easy. Between the locals, the roaming IMC squads, and the fact I currently don't have anywhere to deliver you to…"

She shrugged.

"But you'll do it?"

"I'll try."

"Good enough," he said, nodding. "But I'm not seeing how I can be much help to you. I've got no way to communicate with Sam."

Her helmet answered for her, the visor lights pulsing in unison with each word.

"I BELIEVE I CAN BE OF ASSISTANCE IN THAT MATTER, PILOT JOHN TANNER."

Pérez gestured to her helmet.

"Tanner, meet Cee-Ay-four-four-three-five; Cee-ay, meet Tanner."

"Pleasure," Tanner said as he awkwardly lowered his gaze to Pérez's chest. Pérez almost laughed.

Almost.

"LIKEWISE PILOT TANNER." Cee-Ay said.

"You said you can help with contacting my Titan?"

"AFFIRMATIVE, I HAVE BEEN ATTEMPTING TO ESTABLISH A DATA-LINK WITH THE IMC TITAN, BUT IT REFUSES ALL COMMUNICATION WITHOUT A PROPER IDENTIFICATION CODE. IF YOU PROVIDE THE CODE I CAN TIE MYSELF INTO IMC COMMUNICATION CHANNELS AND ALLOW THE TWO OF YOU TO SPEAK TO ONE ANOTHER."

Tanner puckered his lips, hesitating as he considered the request. He looked up from Pérez's helmet to her face.

"You realise if I give you that code and the IMC catch me, I'll be tried for treason?"

"Seems that as a deserter you'd be lucky to get to as far as a trial," Pérez said.

Tanner seemed to chew that over for a moment before nodding.

"Good point," he said with a grimace. "Ok Cee-Ay; transmit the following sequence over a wavelength of three-eight-seven point two…."

* * *

Sam was almost hostile in her initial suspicion when Cee-Ay transmitted Tanner's codes.

Cee-Ay relayed her opening salvo to the waiting Pilots.

The synthetic voice was clearly female, and clearly disapproving in tone.

" _THIS CHANNEL IS RESERVED FOR INTERSTELLAR MANUFACTURING CORPORATION STAFF, MILITARY, AUTHORISED PILOTS AND ASSIGNED TITANS ONLY._ "

"Sam," Tanner said to Pérez's helmet, now propped up on a table in an empty side office the two had found. "It's me."

" _JOHN TANNER. I AM RELIEVED TO HEAR FROM YOU,_ " Sam said, her tone almost instantly softening, but still clearly distrusting. " _DOES YOUR MOTHER FARE WELL?_ "

"At least as well as my father, but she prefers time in the garden." Tanner replied.

"Code phrase," he then said in answer to Pérez's puzzled look. "Let's her know I'm really me, and not under duress."

"Subtle," Pérez said, rolling her eyes.

" _INDEED_ ," Sam said. " _WE WILL NOW NEED TO CHANGE THE CODE AT OUR EARLIEST OPPORTUNITY._ "

She sounded almost irritated, but her tone no longer held its former hostility.

Tanner chuckled.

"We'll do that, Sam. But first, I need you to listen closely as we don't have much time."

" _ACKNOWLEDGED, PILOT TANNER,_ " Sam intoned. " _AWAITING INSTRUCTIONS._ "

"Sam, the Titan out there with you is Militia, and it's a friendly" Tanner said. "I'm here with its Pilot and she's agreed to take us with them when they leave the planet; take us in, just like we planned. But they need something from us first..."

Pérez listened as Tanner explained the situation, counting off every second left of Cee-Ay's operational status.

By her count there weren't many more.

"…Did you get all that, Sam?" Tanner said, finishing his instructions.

" _AFFIRMATIVE, LINK MY POWER CORE TO MILITIA TITAN CEE-AY-FOUR-FOUR-THREE-FIVE AND INITIATE A POWER TRANSFER," Sam replied dutifully. "I MUST INFORM YOU THAT SUCH AN ACTION IS IN VIOLATION OF IMC CODES OF CONDUCT THREE-FIVE-EIGHT-SEVEN, THREE-FIVE-EIGHT-EIGHT, THREE-FIVE-EIGHT-NINE, THREE—_ "

"Sam, we've broken a few rules already, a few more won't hurt," Tanner said. "In the meantime, Cee-Ay needs your help now."

" _UNDERSTOOD, PILOT TANNER. I ANTICIPATED YOUR RESPONSE AND WE ARE ALREADY CONNECTING AUXILIARY POWER CABLES._ "

"THAT IS CORRECT," Cee-Ay said. "POWER FLOW HAS BEGUN, ANTICIPATE RETURN TO MINIMAL OPERATIONAL LEVELS IN SIXTEEN MINUTES AND THIRTY-EIGHT SECONDS; LIMITED SKIRMISH THRESHOLD IN ONE-HOUR THIRTY-EIGHT MINUTES AND FORTY-SEVEN SECONDS."

"But you're out of immediate danger of a shut-down?" Pérez asked, placing her hands on the table and looking at her helmet.

"AFFIRMATIVE PILOT, POWER TRANSFER CONNECTION TO IMC TITAN ESS-EM-TWO-TWO-FIVE-SIX IS SECURE."

Pérez lowered her head and muttered a brief thanks to some half-believed-in god.

After a moment she raised her head to address her helmet again.

"Sam, this is Cee-Ay's Militia Pilot," she raised her eyes to meet Tanners. "Thank you."

The helmet was silent for a few moments before pulsing once more.

" _THANKS ARE UNNECESSARY, PILOT. I HAVE MY ORDERS._ "

Tanner chuckled.

"She's a bit warmer once you get to know her."

"I'm sure," Pérez replied. Despite herself she was smiling. "Cee-Ay, would shutting down external sensors and combat protocols speed up the rate you're charging at?"

"AFFIRMATIVE," Cee-Ay said. "TIME TO MINIMAL OPERATIONAL LEVELS WOULD DECREASE BY APPROXIMATELY FOUR MINUTES AND SIX SECONDS."

"Hardly worth it," Pérez said. "Especially since we should be getting you a fresh battery soon."

"I CONCUR. I WILL CONTINUE LOCAL AREA SCANNING AND REMAIN LIMITED COMBAT READY."

"Great, let us know if our situation changes."

"I WILL, PILOT."

"Stay safe."

"I WILL, PILOT."

"You too, Sam," Tanner added.

" _ACKNOWLEDGED._ "

Tanner sighed, leaning back into his chair and putting his hands behind his head.

"Well," he said. "That went well."

Pérez lowered herself slowly into the chair opposite him.

"It did."

Silence stretched out between them.

"Look," Tanner said, lowering his hands to the table. "There's nothing I can do to change the fact I was on the other side and probably shooting at you and your friends…"

"True."

"But I was being honest in there. Seeing Typhon changed my perspective. Too late perhaps, from your perspective, but I can't help that either.

"All I can do now is follow through on my decision and help you however I can to prove my intentions." He looked at Pérez imploringly. "And I already have. All I'm asking you to do is meet me half-way. You don't have to like me, just help me get to the Militia."

Pérez crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back in her own chair.

She met Tanner's eyes levelly and tried to get the measure of him.

He seemed sincere, that much was certain.

And he had ordered his Titan to link up and share power with Cee-Ay without hesitation...

Was it enough to undo whatever he'd done in his past working for the IMC?

No, she decided. It was not.

But that didn't mean it wasn't a start.

After a few moments, she sighed and offered her hand out towards Tanner.

"Pérez," she said. "Emilia Pérez."

Tanner looked at her somewhat uncertainly.

"I know," he said. "You already-"

"We're starting over," she said. "Pérez, Emilia Pérez."

"John Tanner," he said, smiling broadly as he accepted her handshake.

"Nice to meet you, Tanner."

"Nice to meet you, Pérez."

She released his hand.

"Do you have a plan on getting out of this situation then?" he asked.

She nodded as she withdrew her hand, grabbing her helmet off the table.

"See what this Council of theirs has to say," she said, putting her helmet back into place on her head. "And if we don't like what we hear, we get the hell out of here with your gear and enough energy to see us over."

"Two Pilots working together?" Tanner said with the hint of a grin. "They'll never know what hit them."


	5. Chapter 5

The Council eventually called the two back in to read their verdict - almost twenty minutes after Cee-Ay's lack of power would have rendered him inert.

Pérez - her helmet once more in place - had moved to the seat offered by Sokoloff.

John moved to stand slightly behind her - the two forming a seemingly united front against the colonists.

With any member of her former unit, she'd have found solidarity in that gesture. But with a former-IMC Pilot - even with the recent change in their relationship - it simply made her shoulders itch.

"Pilots, I'm pleased to inform you that the Council has come to a decision," Sokoloff began. "I apologise that it took so long."

From the almost smug looks that passed over Dubois' and Billings' faces, she presumed the delay had been intentional on their part. There was some dynamic at work here she simply wasn't getting.

It was going to take some careful thought…preferably after at least one shower, three cups of coffee, and a few hours sleep.

For now, the only thing to do was disrupt their plans as much as possible.

"No problem," she said in a brighter tone than she truly felt. "Thanks to assistance from Pilot Tanner, Cee-Ay has a few hours left in him."

She felt a slight rush of exhilaration at the suddenly darkening expressions on some of the Council's faces. Billings and Dubois she had expected. Parvati's sudden scowl was more of a surprise than it should have been.

Aiko however, seemed to brighten at the news, whereas Sokoloff took it in his stride.

"That's good to hear, especially given the Council's decision," he said, taking his glasses in hand and beginning to wipe them with a section of his coat. "We've voted in favour of your protection of our colony, Pilot Pérez. In exchange for your room and board, and one battery unit a week."

Pérez looked over her shoulder towards Tanner. He stood at parade attention and gave no sign of what he thought of the offer.

Pérez knew what she thought of it though.

"No deal," she said, turning her head back towards the Council. "You supply room and board, all of Tanner's gear back, you meet the power needs of both of our Titans as and when required, and…"

She braced herself for the storm to follow.

"We want unrestricted access to the facility, and any communications and sensor equipment you have."

Billings slammed a hand down on his table, his face near purple.

"Unacceptable!" he said. "Access to communications? What would stop you from calling your Militia as soon as our backs are turned?!"

"Not a damned thing," Pérez said, her voice calm. "and that is exactly what I plan to do."

Sokoloff started to object, but was silenced as Pérez raised a hand.

"You can't be naive enough to believe that we'll stay here indefinitely to protect you. We have a war to fight, and we can't wait it out baby-sitting."

Billings stood, even as Sokoloff tried to wave him back to his seat.

"How dare you," he shouted, trembling with anger. "You'll accept our offer, or you'll bloody well leave with nothing!"

"We'll leave with whatever we want to take," Pérez said. "I want to make clear to you, Councillors, that the only things we need from you is processed uranium batteries and food. And both our Titans have enough power to flatten this entire colony to obtain them."

She watched the colour drain from more than one face as she stood slowly, placing her hands on the table as she leaned forwards.

"I don't want to do that," she said, her voice firm. "But if it's the only option you leave me with, I will take it."

"Please, please, this is all so unnecessary," Sokoloff said, managing to curtail another explosive outburst from Billings. "Your demands are not so exceptional-"

"Like bloody hell they aren't, what-"

"-not so exceptional that we can't come to some arrangement, I am sure," Sokoloff finished, glaring angrily at Billings for his interruption. "I'm sure that Councilman Billings - and the people of this colony he speaks for…" he added pointedly, "…would not want to see everything they've built here undone over such a trivial matter."

Billings' face retained its purplish complexion, but he slowly lowered himself into his seat. Sokoloff nodded in satisfaction with this victory. Pérez felt a smile tug at the edges of her mouth as he turned his attention back towards the two Pilots.

"And I'm sure you can understand that we're not stupid or desperate enough to send out our location to every IMC Titan on this planet," Pérez said. "We need access to those comms in order to coordinate an effective defence of this settlement."

Sokoloff hesitated, before turning to look at Dubois.

The Security Chief's expression was thoughtful.

He eventually gave a minute nod.

"I am sure something can be arranged," he said. "But it would not be unrestricted access, just what you need to organise yourselves."

Pérez frowned. It was more than she and Tanner had expected, but less than they had hoped for.

Still, baby steps…

"Alright, Foreman. Councillors," Pérez said, standing. "You have yourselves a deal."

* * *

It was nearing dawn before they had hammered out the finer points of the agreement.

Cee-Ay and Sam had both had their power supplies replenished, Tanner had received all of his gear back and seemed to relish the chance to wear it again. Like her, his helmet had rarely been removed once it was on - and both Pérez and Cee-Ay were tied into his communications with Sam.

Eventually they had agreed with Dubois - the only Council member aside from Sokoloff who had remained after the initial agreement was struck - on a sensible patrol route for the two Titans which allowed them to cover the most likely approaches any IMC forces were likely to take to reach the town.

In theory, it should give them a few hours of warning at least, but it wasn't perfect. Two Titans could only cover so much ground after all.

By this time, Pérez had been awake for the better part of ninety hours, if you counted the few short hours of restless sleep she had managed since the attack. She'd been managing to stay awake until now on stims - and it had been a long while since her last.

It was only when she realised everyone was staring at her, apparently waiting for the answer to a question she hadn't heard, that she called a time-out.

She was shown to a three-room suite on one of the administrative building's upper levels that would be her quarters. A quick glance as she entered showed it was expensively furnished - a fact Pérez found more than a little interesting - but the moment she saw the large, comfy looking bed, all other thoughts went from her head.

She managed little more than throwing her small bag of possessions by the bed, removing her helmet and placing it on a nearby nightstand, before she collapsed onto the soft sheets and fell asleep.

* * *

It seemed far too soon before someone was knocking on the door to her suite, waking her from her deep sleep.

Pérez groaned in reply, pushing her head under her pillow.

"Make them go away," she said, voice muffled.

"PILOT PÉREZ," Cee-Ay said, his voice sounding from her helmet. "IT IS NOW PAST LOCAL MID-DAY. I SUGGESTED THAT YOU MIGHT WISH TO JOIN PILOT TANNER FOR A LATE LUNCH, AS YOU HAVE EATEN LITTLE EXCEPT RATION BARS OVER THE PAST SIX DAYS."

She groaned and threw one of her spare pillows at the helmet. It missed.

"I BELIEVE HE ALSO HAS COFFEE WITH HIM."

Pérez pulled the pillow off of her head and glared at the helmet.

"That is completely unfair," she said, her words still slurred as she struggled to wake up.

Her helmet remained quiet, but she caught the vague feeling of amusement through her neural link. She glared at it for a moment longer before - with reluctance - she rolled from the bed and stood up. Grabbing the helmet by its inside rim she made her way out of the bedroom and to the door of the suite.

She opened it with a press of the switch by the frame, and barely gave Tanner a glace before heading back towards the bedroom.

"Not a morning person then?" Tanner said. Letting himself into the suite, his amusement almost as irritating as her Titan's.

"'S'not morning…" she managed.

"Well, that much is true," he said. "I hope you're hungry at least."

Pérez stopped at the bedroom entrance and turned to look towards Tanner, who was in the process of placing a large selection of foodstuffs onto the table in the living area. Her stomach growled loudly in reply.

"Shower. Coffee. Food. In that order." Pérez said, placing her helmet on a nearby chair and heading towards the en-suite bathroom.

* * *

A few moments later and her shower unit was filling the small room with steam.

Pérez had already taken off her somewhat soiled pilot gear and under-suit and was now working with one hand to undo the suspension harness that connected her other arm to her shoulder. After a moment more, the cybernetic-prosthetic unlocked from the socket with a quick twisting motion, and she set both the appendage and the neural linkage harness aside before standing under a blissfully hot stream of water.

It seemed like hours before she started to feel human again; washing nearly a week's worth of sweat and filth her from body, and working the knots from her shoulder-length hair.

When she finally stepped out of the shower, she felt like a new woman. Still exhausted, but at least clean and more relaxed than she had felt since before the battle six days ago.

After spending some time similarly wiping down and cleaning her prosthetic, she entered the bedroom wrapped in a ridiculously fluffy towel and placed it on the bed. After a moments searching, she located the grey duffel-bag she'd thrown beside the bed the night before, or rather, this morning.

It was standard practice to keep a spare set of underclothes and hygienics in your Titan in case of an unexpectedly lengthy deployment. She'd only rarely been on a deployment so isolated as to need it, but now she was glad for it.

She frowned at her cybernetic arm lying on the bed for a moment before deeming it too much hassle to reattach for the time being. Being a combat-model arm it was built to suffer extreme stresses and react at least as well as a real limb, but the trade-off was the weight and subsequent strain on her shoulder. It was actually nice not to be wearing it for a change, although she'd likely miss the convenience of it before long.

For now though, she would do without. Cee-Ay would be able to warn her of any dangers with enough time for her to reattach it and suit up again. Even one-handed it took her only a few moments to slip into a simple pair of fatigues and a grey tank top, and - giving her hair a final quick shake - she returned to the living area.

Tanner stood from one of the armchairs as she entered the room, immediately holding a cup of steaming coffee out to her.

As she accepted the cup she noted he didn't stare at her missing limb - she supposed he'd seen his share of amputees as a medic. She shrugged mentally, and decided instead to focus on her coffee.

She settled into the large sofa, leaning back into the plush material and sipped deeply from the cup. She closed her eyes as the warmth of the drink seeped into her body and made an appreciative noise as she savoured the bitter taste.

"Better?" Tanner asked.

"Getting there," she said, eyes still closed in bliss as she took another sip from the cup. "Oh my god, you have no idea how much I needed this."

"I have an idea," Tanner said, seating himself back into the arm chair across from her. He picked up his own cup of coffee from the table between them, cradling it in his hand "after spending five days in Sam, they had to cut me off before I burned through the whole stock."

"If you had, we'd be having a very different conversation right now," Pérez said, giving him a rare smile. "I don't think you'd have enjoyed it."

Tanner laughed.

"I expect you're right," he motioned towards the table, on which there were a few selections of local meats, cheeses and breads. "In the meantime, I thought you might want something to eat. Stims can only get you so far…"

"True enough," she reluctantly set down her coffee and started loading up a plate with food. "But after this, you and I need to figure out what the hell to do with this mess we've landed ourselves in."

* * *

 _A/N: Well over a year since my last update! I'm sorry to those that liked and commented on my story so far! Things have not been too good for the last 12 months (well, longer actually, but who's counting!) but they are slowly getting better. I'll try and keep new chapters coming at a quicker pace going forward. Thanks for sticking with me, and I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I do writing it!_

 _~Tekkno_


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